NBA Jersey Ads and the Benefits for Both Sides

NBA teams are finally starting to make deals with different companies around the world to put the company’s brand on their jerseys.  It seems that both sides of the deals are expecting a lot out of the branding on the jerseys.  For the company’s side of it, their brand will be seen my millions of people everyday to help spread the name and logo of their company to hopefully help them grow in revenue and use of their product.  For the NBA teams they are going to be making a lot of money from these company’s by just putting a little picture of a logo on their jerseys, so it’s a win win for both sides. 

About two weeks ago the biggest NBA ad deal had gone down between a Japanese company, Rakuten, and last years NBA finals Champions, the Golden State Warriors.   From what has been released, the Japanese company is paying the Warriors $60 Million for a three-year deal of having their logo on their jersey.  Not surprised by the price because the Warriors are the most watched team in the entire NBA and showed Rakuten that if they want to be on the jersey of the most watched team they had to be willing to pay the big bucks to be on the jersey. 

This is a great way for the NBA teams to make produce easy revenue by just adding a patch on the jersey.  I am surprised that this did not happen earlier.  I know some people may believe that this is showing that the NBA is all about money and not about the skills of the players, but realistically it is just a little patch to give the company exposure in the United States and gives the NBA teams a chance to profit the easiest way it knows how to.

http://abc7news.com/sports/warriors-partner-with-rakuten-for-lucrative-jersey-sponsorship-deal/2409464/

For the second time in less than a month, North Korea on Friday fired a ballistic missile that flew over Japan in what was widely seen as payback for the U.N. Security Council's latest sanctions. As tensions continue to rise, this conflict could benefit some American companies. One example is Honeywell. Honeywell is a multinational company with a defense sector. These alarming moves by North Korea has lead to an arms race in Japan  and South Korea who are franticly increasing defense budget to defend themselves. This presents Honeywell with an opportunity for more business.



https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/17/north-korea-crisis-may-boost-honeywell-sales-singapore-summit.html

Maria's Impact on Puerto Rico's Economy

The recent Hurricane to make landfall in Puerto Rico has already had catastrophic ramifications on their already struggling economy. It was the strongest storm to hit Puerto Rico within the last 90 years. Small businesses make up over 80% of their private sector workers and it is vital for those business specifically to get back electricity and power to help the islands' economy bounce back. It is estimated that the island has been hit with about $30 billion in damages with $20 billion coming in physical damage and $10 billion coming from the economic impact.

Puerto Rico has spent seven of the last ten years in a recession and clearly, Maria is doing them no help. The GDP in Puerto Rico has dropped by a percent a year in 7 of the last 10 years, the poverty rate is round 40% and unemployment is up to 10%.









https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-maria-puertorico-analysis/puerto-ricos-fragile-economy-dealt-new-blow-by-maria-idUSKCN1BZ0C4

How Hurricane Harvey Will Give America’s Seniors a Bigger Raise in 2018 

Millions of Americans will likely get a slighter larger bump in their Social Security checks next year because Hurricane Harvey roared across the Gulf Coast this summer.Gasoline prices jumped as the storm hit Texas and Louisiana in late August, disrupting fuel shipments and shutting down refineries. The price jump may prove temporary, but it means U.S. inflation measures will be higher in August and September,because it is how the government will determine the Social Security cost-of -living adjustment for 2018. Cost-of -living adjustment is annual cost of living adjustment for social security benefits, based on a formula intended to keep pace with raising consumer prices. Max Gulker, senior research fellow at the nonprofit American Institute for Economic Research in Great Barrington, Mass. He sayed, “It’ll be a little bigger,and for the average Social Security recipient, it would add, like, $2.50 to the monthly check.”Social Security trustees this summer projected a 2.2% increase in benefits for the coming year. If the actual number comes in around or a bit above that level, it would be the largest benefits increase in six years for Americans who receive Social Security, Supplemental Security Income or both—66.6 million people as of July. The average monthly Social Security benefit was $1,256.94. The mean reason is higher gasoline prices will boost the inflation index used to calculate Social Security cost-of-living adjustments. 

https://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2017/09/22/how-hurricane-harvey-will-give-americas-seniors-a-bigger-raise-in-2018/#livefyre-toggle-BL-REB-37751

NFL Broadcasting Stocks Slump as Protests Rise and TV Ratings Fall

Throughout the past month, the overall stock market is up 2%.  But companies that broadcast NFL games like Comcast, Walk Disney, Fox, and CBS are all down between 1% and 8%. 

It began when the San Francisco 49ers player, Colin Kaepernick started protesting against the National Anthem.  This year, protests have begun due to people believing Kaepernick, who is now without a team, is being treated wrongly by the league.

Some thought that the NFL ratings dip wouldn’t be long term, but the ratings this year have been even worse than last year.  The networks pay about $5 billion to televise the NFL games and were already facing unflattering margins on advertising profits.  Some have speculated that the drop in NFL ratings could trim the broadcaster’s earnings by $200 million.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2017/09/23/nfl-broadcasting-stocks-slump-as-protests-rise-and-tv-ratings-slump/#20b163064eec

What happens to wages and prices when workers cross borders freely?

In the US we have lots of debate these days on whether people should be allowed to enter freely from Mexico and other neighboring countries. The concerns have to do with how this movement of people will affect US jobs.  Of course we are not the only country grappling with these issues.

A Sept. 16 article in The Economist described how many workers from the small country of Serbia are heading for Slovakia to get temporary employment there.  The number of Serbs looking for jobs in Slovakia has risen by more than 60% since January, according to this article (see below). These Serbian workers are motivated by high unemployment rates back home in Serbia and very low pay for the few jobs that can be found there.

Slovakia is also a small country in population and it faces a labor shortage. A major reason why Slovakia has a shortage of labor is because it is a member of the European Union: This means Slovakians are able to go to other European Union member countries like Germany and Austria for high-paying jobs. So Slovaia has been losing workers who move to these countries. Meanwhile, Serbians are attracted to moving to Slovakia for the available jobs and the better pay than they would get back home.

This seems like a win-win situation for Serbian workers needing jobs and Slovakia’s economy which needs workers. The labor shortage in Slovakia had caused wages to rise. But some of the locals in Slovakia are complaining that the Serbians who move there for work are causing wages to decrease because the Serbs are willing to accept lower wages and the arrival of the Serbs means labor is no longer in short supply. The complaints of this group in Slovakia are similar to the complaints of auto industry and other factory workers in the US who resent the arrival of workers from abroad who they believe may be taking factory jobs for lower wages and so keeping wages low.

I believe this debate should focus on whether more people are better off in both countries. Allowing the unemployed Serbs to take up jobs in Slovakia means Serbia’s unemployment rate is not as high. It also means that the Slovak economy can get the labor it needs at lower wages, which means that Slovak consumers will have cheaper prices to pay.

 https://www.economist.com/news/europe/21728993-labour-shortage-means-wages-are-better-inside-eu-serbian-guest-workers-head

The Storms Moved On. The Caribbean Islands Fear the Tourists Might, Too.

Two hurricanes in two weeks have caused a huge damage to many countries in the Caribbean with more than 20 bodies and millions without power and many homes destroyed. Not only that but the storms also destroyed through the tourism industry such as hotels, shops, taxis, and restaurants. In addition, cruise ports and airports are also closed. Many countries income comes from tourist and many workers could be impacted from this, “Without a steady influx of cash from tourists, businesses suffer, employers cut back and residents lose jobs; workers on especially hurricane-stricken islands could move elsewhere for opportunity, denting the local economy further”. Many tourist are also encouraged to postpone trips to the islands until everything gets back to normal.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/23/us/tourism-hurricane-economy-caribbean-islands.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus

The Impact of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico and the Global Economy

After Hurricane Maria barreled through the Caribbean Islands, it left the island of Puerto Rico devastated. Some 3.5 million of the world's population live on the island, and according to the BLS, this small islands accounts for about $20 billion in exports each year. This most recent hurricane to pass through the island knocked out Puerto Rico's entire power grid along with a lot of their infrastructure. Recent estimates of the damage have left the island without electricity for months. This will hamper their productivity and heavily reduce their net exports.

The island of Puerto Rico has export an estimated $20 billion, accounting for a large part of their economy. Pharmaceuticals and medicine manufacturing play a big role in their economy, accounting for between 60%-70% of their exports. The largest rum distillery in the world, Bacardi's "Casa Bacardi", is also located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This distillery produces around 100,000 salons of rum in a day. These industries will potentially have trouble operating at full capacity until they have recovered from the storm. This could cause a shortage of their primary exports such as pharmaceuticals, medicines and rum, temporarily driving prices up to account for the current quantity.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/22/us/hurricane-maria-puerto-rico-power.html